Who runs the Vatican after the pope steps down?

VATICAN CITY (RNS) As of 8 p.m. Thursday, the Vatican will go into "sede vacante'' mode -- a Latin expression that means that the seat of St. Peter is vacant. Here's what will happen and who rules the church during the "interregnum" between two popes.

Alessandro Speciale

Alessandro Speciale has been covering the Vatican since 2007 and wrote for Religion News Service from 2011-2013. Born in Rome, he studied literature at the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa, Italy, and journalism at City University, London. He has appeared as an expert on Vatican affairs on CNN, BBC World and Al Jazeera English.